This month we are refreshing our knowledge of both land law and conveyancing procedure when considering the impact of solar panels being installed on a property when it is sold. In many parts of the country you cannot have failed to notice the thousands of properties that now have solar panels on their roofs. Much of this work has been done over the past couple of years, so it is still early on to fully assess the impact on the conveyancing process, but in this article we will highlight a few of the potential issues.

For many working in legal departments, using Microsoft Excel is a daily necessity, from producing invoices to taking stock of how much stationery is in the storeroom. As with most essential office software, there are many things you can do to make daily use more easy and pleasurable. Here are five useful tips:

Entering Text over Several Lines

If you have a lot of text to enter into a cell and you want it to appear, hit ALT+ENTER and your cursor will be taken to a new line.

Navigating Worksheets with Shortcut Keys

Shortcut keys are always good to know. If you have a lot of worksheets, you can navigate them by pressing CTRL+PAGE DOWN to move right and CTRL+PAGE UP to move left.

Hiding Data in Printouts

This month as we approach the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, we have the second in a series of articles on civil liberty and our justice system. We will start with an explanation of what the Magna Carta is and then consider a current example of the charter principles in effect, namely the changes to bailiff powers brought into force in April. 

The Magna Carta

Magna Carta is famous as a symbol of justice, fairness and human rights. For centuries it has inspired and encouraged the freedom movement and constitutional reform not only in this country but around the world. However, when it was issued by King John in June 1215, its future importance was not considered.

Do you feel your email writing skills are of a high-enough standard and there is little, if anything, you can learn further? Tut-tut, my friends! The simple fact of the matter is that from time to time we could all do with a refresher course in how to create a professional email.  

If you work as a Legal Secretary or PA, your communication must be of the highest professional standard. You need to keep in mind that clients will always expect 100% professionalism when they are paying law firms for their work. Never feel that it is acceptable to be a little more casual when it comes to sending emails in a business or professional capacity – it really is not!

Does it seem to you as though the government is all over creating new laws for the insignificant aspects of life, yet they definitely procrastinate in legislating against the things that really matter? With so many people having voiced concerns over what are known as zero-hour employment contracts for such a long time now, how else can we justify such a deplorable lack of action in this regard?

If you work in family law as a Legal Secretary or PA, you will already be fully aware of the fact that this branch of the legal system has just experienced what many people are calling a revolution of change. New laws connected with family law have just come into force (April 2014), and for the most part, people are hopeful that they will mean some changes for the better in this area of law; however, others have concerns that the new laws could lead to a whole new set of problems.

The biggest change is the fact that the previous three-tier court system in family law has now been replaced by a single combined court. This is all primarily aimed at making this area of law more accessible and expeditious when it comes to dealing with around 270,000 such family law cases each and every year.

How committed are you to having a career you absolutely love?

Your level of commitment plays a key role in the process of creating a fulfilling career.  When people are undercommitted to their careers, they tend to get lousy results.  When they get clear about what they want and commit themselves to creating it, however long it takes, they usually get there in some fashion.

Action reveals commitment

How do you know how committed you are?  You can tell by your actions… by what you consider important enough to carve out time for.

Receiving rejection letters, emails and phone calls can be a tough part of the job-hunting process. Worse still are those days of hearing nothing at all, even when you’ve slogged over countless application forms. But try your best to fight despondency. Now is the time for inner strength and renewed energy. To keep on track until your ideal NQ solicitor, paralegal or legal secretary job is in the bag, it’s vital to stay focused and positive.

Legal jobs take multiple forms, but the skills needed to excel are the same for any position in law.

Whether you are an aspiring or qualified Lawyer, Paralegal, Secretary, Conveyancer or any other role in the profession, Anna Pitts of the Graduate Recruitment Bureau brings you the 10 essential traits you need for a career in law. For anyone looking to begin their career in law, especially if you are about to graduate, this is essential reading!

1. Organisation

Legal professionals can’t afford to be unorganised. You’ll be running on a tight schedule, and clients will be counting on you to be prompt and reliable. If running like clockwork isn’t your strong point, use a diary, daily planner and even Post-its if you need to, to get organised.

2. Teamwork

Does it come as a surprise to you that legal apprenticeships exist? There are a good number of ways in which you could complete a legal apprenticeship, and for many people this may be preferable to following a LLB law degree route.

Legal apprenticeships allow you to study to become a fully qualified Legal Executive at the same time as working and earning in a legal firm. The pay can be low whilst you study to become qualified – often only at the national minimum wage – but when you take into consideration the fact that you are being paid to gain a valuable qualification and experience, this does appear to be an excellent path to take.